A Change of Heart
by zeurin
Summary: So Miroku dies and that leaves Sango keen for revenge against Naraku. However the only way to do that is to bring back Bankotsu. What happens when Sango starts falling for this mercenary? BanSan!
1. The Decision

Ok, I know this doesn't make much sense because Kagome has jewel shards while she's not supposed to because they were stolen, but oh well… Bear with me! This takes place about a little while after Naraku was reborn and Band of Seven was defeated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha… or Bankotsu… or Sango or anyone else! –tears-

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**Chapter One: The Decision **

_The huge root thing that came from Naraku's body grasped Sango, holding her tightly against the wall. Then she watched as another root lifted up towards Naraku, carrying the severed body of the young leader of the Band of Seven. A pang filled her heart as she saw the handsome face of the dead mercenary. Then, almost as though to taunt her, Naraku plucked out the jewels and Sango bit her lip as she watched the flesh turn to ash on Bankotsu's body, leaving only a skeleton behind, still in his crisp blue and white clothes. _

_Tears burned in Sango's eyes and nothing else seemed to exist. 'He was a good man. Loyal and brave, even though he was a ruthless killer, he had a heart. Why did he have to die?' Sango thought. 'Besides, if he were alive, perhaps he could join us in defeating Naraku. Bankotsu was quite strong.' Then she shook that thought out of her head. That would never happen! An enemy on their side? Never! Suddenly, the taijiya drifted out of Naraku's body into a misty white place. _

"_You can save him," Erie voices said, coming out from nowhere, "Bankotsu's bones are still in Mt. Hakurei. You can use some jewel shards and bring him and Banryu back. He is strong. He can help you greatly."_

_Sango considered it. Then, she quickly stopped, snapping back to her common sense and said, "No, he's a mercenary, a bad guy! I can't do that!"_

_"Why not?" The wise voices asked._

_She had to think on that one, "Because… well… That would be betraying Kagome and taking her jewel shards."_

_"She wouldn't mind." The emotionless voices said once more. _

_"Well, I don't think that Bankotsu would ever join us anyways. We killed his brothers!" Sango argued._

_"You would be surprised."_

_"But-"_

_The voices interrupted her, "Take the jewel shards and bring Bankotsu back! It's your only way of surviving against Naraku! Now go!"_

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Sango gasped as she violently woke up from her dream. Beads of sweat covered her forehead. Panting softly, she quickly slipped out the door of the hut they were sleeping in, careful not to wake the others who were peacefully sleeping, the problem of Naraku away from their happy dreams. The taijiya sighed, thinking about her odd dream. _What is my dream trying to tell me?_ She asked herself, confused. _It could just be a random dream… No it was too real for that. Must I really go revive Bankotsu? Is that the only way to save us from Naraku? _She thought for a moment. It was true. Naraku had been getting stronger with more jewel shards. They had not been able to attack him to hurt him in the least, but the problem was that he had been very well able to harm them.

The taijiya sighed and glanced wistfully towards the hut where Kagome was in with the jewel shards snuggled next to her. _It would be so easy to just go in there and steal the jewel shard and…_ Sango frowned, "Well, what good can Bankotsu be anyways?" She said out loud, "He lost to Inuyasha and Inuyasha constantly looses to Naraku! What help can he be?" Immediately after she had said this, she felt a pang of guilt in her gut. No, what she said wasn't true. Inuyasha wasn't necessarily better than Bankotsu… Sango sighed. That was enough of that topic. Bankotsu was never going to come back and that's that. No what ifs.

Getting up, Sango stretched out her limbs and trotted back into camp. The others were beginning to wake up now. Forcing a smile toward Kagome, who was sleepily brushing her limp hair, she said, "Come on, there's a village close by. We can go there and try to get some leads on Naraku's whereabouts."

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Sango raced behind a tree to fling on her tight slayer outfit then, she rushed out with her Hiraikotsu and jumped on Kirara's back along with Miroku, gripping around her waist to stay on. They had reached the village just minutes ago, but to all their surprise, they had immediately told them that they had seen a man fitting the description of Naraku in a nearby forest. Eager to finally find Naraku, Inuyasha and Kagome speedily raced below them. Sango wasn't as eager. _They hadn't been able to defeat them before, so how were they supposed to now?_ The demon slayer thought, an odd feeling of disaster in the pit of her stomach, but she ignored it and urged Kirara faster.

They all screeched to a stop as they came to the first of large pine trees that marked the start of a forest. Sango and Miroku both quickly jumped off Kirara and Kagome got off of Inuyasha. They all exchanged nods and began to cautiously enter the forest.

It was a deep and dark forest with shadowy figures everywhere and creepy bird (were they birds?) calls echoing through the expanse of trees. It was quite moist in there, perhaps from a recent storm, but it made the grounds muddy and difficult to slosh through. There was also the dripping of rainwater onto their heads from the tall pine trees above, which startled Sango's sharp demon slayer senses and made her jump with fright every time, which was quite annoying. No one said a word in the damp forest. Everyone was too involved in his or her own thoughts, but Sango did huddle next to Miroku and grasp his arm. It wasn't as though she were afraid of Naraku. It was just that the same feeling of premonition. _It's going to be okay, _She tried to assure herself, _We're going to defeat Naraku and everything will be good, _But the truth was that she didn't even believe what she had just thought. Sango bit her lip, trying not to scream out, but couldn't take it anymore. Something bad was going to happen and she had to stop it from happening! "Guys, I don't think that we should continue-"

Unfortunately, at that very second, a light-colored baboon pelt emerged from the darkness of a shadow. Sango's hands clenched into fists. Too late now, it was Naraku!

Naraku grinned at them from under his ridiculous baboon costume, "So you found me," He said in his great husk of a voice.

"Damn right!" Inuyasha exclaimed, drawing out his Tetsusaiga and pointing it at Naraku, "Prepare to die!"

Naraku merely chuckled and a large root came out from under his costume and wrapped itself around Inuyasha, then tossed him back, making him hit hard on the ground. Sango quickly rushed to Inuyasha's rescue by freeing him with her Hiraikotsu while Miroku attacked. "Wind Tunnel!" He exclaimed, opening the dark air void in his right hand.

Having successfully freed Inuyasha from the root, Sango rushed to watch Miroku's wind tunnel in action. But suddenly, something black and yellow caught her eye. She followed the swarming speck of color to find it to be one of Naraku's poisonous insects! "Miroku, watch out!" she called to him.

Miroku swerved his head to find what Sango was talking about. Quickly, he clutched his hand in a fist and wrapped his prayer beads around it, sealing off the air void. The monk gave a feeble smile in Sango's way in gratitude.

At that very moment, swarms of hundreds, no thousands, of demons flowed out from under Naraku's costume. Kagome had snapped into action by then and released one of her sacred arrows, piercing through a row of vicious Naraku-minions. Helping her out, Sango swung her boomerang, which sliced through another row. Kagome shot her arrow again. Inuyasha, recovering from getting tackled by a root, used his Windscar to help wipe out a large number of them. Sango swung her boomerang once more… No matter how many times they attacked, there always seemed to be two demons flowing out from Naraku that filled that demon's place… It was useless to attack. The only way they could hope to defeat them was with Miroku's wind tunnel, but since he was in no position to fight, they were basically doomed. And, to make it all worse, Naraku just sat there and watched them, smirking.

Giving up on trying to defeat the waves of demons, Inuyasha yelled, "Hey, what are you grinning for? You can say good-bye cuz you're going down!"

That only made Naraku grin wider as he easily dodged Inuyasha's blade and attempted to strangle him with a root. Inuyasha was all about strength, not strategy, which was his weakness. Being very quick and agile, Naraku just kept on dodging the wind scars and even backlash waves the hanyou threw at him, as though in a teasing way. That made Inuyasha extremely frustrated. "Stop moving around! Stay still so I can kill you!"

The annoying villain stood silent and just continued to slip like jelly pass all the attacks while at the same time, holding them back with his never-ending roots. Dozens of minutes passed… Or was it hours? In all, for what seemed like an eternity of the senseless fight, "Enough of this fooling around," Naraku finally said. Everyone seemed to freeze in his or her tracks to listen to what he had to say. The wicked man looked straight at Sango, making her uncontrollably have shivers run down her spine, she being quite fearful of this monster.

After a tense staring contest of a few seconds, Sango finally looked away, frightened by his evil eyes. "I know what you're up to," Naraku said, not looking away from the taijiya, "You're trying to bring him back so that you can defeat me. Too bad that's never going to happen."

Sango blinked and the others all frowned at her. _Wait, _She thought, _How does he know about…?_ "Well, to your luck, I wasn't even thinking about bringing that fool back." She announced.

Naraku's eyes narrowed menacingly at the girl, "That's what I thought you would say," He said, making Sango let out her silent breath in relief, "However," Sango sucked in the air and held it in her lungs, "I don't trust your word." His roots under his pelt began to spread out, brushing everyone's feet.

"Sango, what's he talking about?" Miroku started to ask, but it was too late.

Suddenly, a spiked root extended at full speed from Naraku's body, wrapping almost suffocatingly tight around the monk's blue-robed body, the spiked end pointing dangerously close to Miroku's neck. "If you even try to bring the dead man back, your little lover here dies."

Sango gasped, but stood still, not daring to move. Kagome pointed her arrow at the villain, "Naraku, let him go!" But, the half-demon merely smiled and an unexpected root came up and knocked the bow out of Kagome's hands, and before she could do anything, the root had snapped the bow in half. The schoolgirl stood shocked and the pieces of her faithful painted bow slipped between her fingers.

Angered by that, Sango snapped into action. Seeing Naraku's back turned to her, she began to sneak behind him, toward Miroku with her Hiraikotsu ready to slice the root imprisoning him. Obviously that did not work. Naraku was too sly and tricky and he had already known what Sango was about to do before she did it. Immediately, he sent a think pointed root that pierced through her gut, inches away from her heart. He could have killed her, but he couldn't because he still needed her if the prophecy was to be complete. Grinning with glee, Naraku said, "Ah, I see that you're still not listening to a word I'm saying." Sango staggered on the ground, clutching her blood soaked stomach.

Unable to stand anymore, the taijiya fell to her knees, her worried brown eyes watching Naraku's grip around her true love attentively. The pointed root inched closer to Miroku's fragile neck. The monk was unconscious now from the lack of air since the root was driven deep into his lungs. "So if you are going to bring the dead man back, which you're not, you get to suffer the death of your loved one."

Everything seemed to be in slow motion now. "No!" Sango screamed, but it was too late. She could only watch in fright as the pointed root stabbed the monk through the heart, not missing its target. The woman watched as warm red blood squirted out from the man, drenching the root with red.

"No!" Sango screamed again, her salty tears cascading down her cheeks and dripping down on her front. But, there was nothing she could do. It didn't seem real. _Everything's going to be all right; _She thought to herself, _This is all just a horrible dream. I'll wake up in the morning and everything will be normal again. _That was a lie and she knew it. It wasn't all right and Miroku was dead… her beloved monk was dead and there was no way she could bring him back.

"Lesson learned: Never try to go against Naraku," The baboon said, "Or else there will be consequences." Naraku smirked, then sucked back in all his roots, releasing the monk's body to make it fall on the cold hard ground. Then, he disappeared mysteriously into the clear night, only leaving a swarm of poisonous insects.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Sango ran to the body of her loved one and grabbed him, pulling his stiff body to her. No one did anything; they were all afraid to upset her. They just stood there, stunned and confused… Almost as though they didn't believe what had just happened.

The night went on and the first stars began to appear in the crisp sky. The beautiful night with the crescent moon showed nothing of the sorrow and pain the young woman deep in the forest felt. _Naraku, _Sango thought bitterly, _I will get my revenge… somehow… _

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Sango lay in the hut, her wounds being rewrapped by Kagome. Neither of them said a word. Sango was still too depressed by Miroku's death and Kagome didn't want to force her to speak. So, instead they both just stayed in awkward silence. Once she finished bandaging her friend, the schoolgirl immediately left the hut so that Sango could rest with privacy.

The taijiya sighed and curled up in a ball, careful not to strain her muscles in case her wounds opened up again. Sango had made up her decision. She was going to do it. No matter what the consequences were, she had to beat Naraku and avenge Miroku. She had made up her mind moments after Miroku died when she was clutching his cold, dead body to her heart. This was the only way to make sure Miroku did not die in vain. Sango sighed again. Despite her wounds, she would have to go do it now, or else she would never be able to do it. The woman got up from her bamboo mat and painfully slipped on her tight cat-like black slayer suit. It was now or never and she chose now.

Standing now, the taijiya tested her strength. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get through her journey to Mt. Hakurei. Biting her lip softly, Sango reached for the glass jar of jewel shard sitting on Kagome's bamboo mat…

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Yep, and here chapter 1 ends... Sorry it's kinda short and I kinda left you all hangin. Please review so I know how I did! 


	2. The Journey

Whoa! It's been a looong time since I've updated! Sorry about that!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha**

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**Chapter Two: The Journey**

Sango soared through the air on her faithful pet Kirara, a strange tingling feeling coming from her chest where the vial of jewel shards she had stolen rested in a hidden pocket near her heart. She had stolen from Kagome. Sango had never thought that she would steal anything from anyone, let alone the most powerful jewels ever from her best friend. The taijiya shook that out of her head. What was done was done and besides, she needed the jewels to _save _Kagome. It would all work out with some time… At least she hoped.

_Stop hesitating, _She scolded herself mentally, _No time for second thoughts, I have to do this… For Miroku's sake. _Tears burned in her eyes from the mere remembrance of her beloved monk, but she quickly shook him out of her head. _This is no time for crying! I must be strong! _Sango sighed, but then realized that Kirara had stopped flying and was hovering in midair, waiting for her mistress's directions. The slayer adjusted the strap of the small sack she wore on her back carrying some supplies. Finally, she said, "Kirara, take me to Mt. Hakurei."

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The taijiya could sense the confusion in Kirara, but of course, her loyal companion did not refuse her odd request. She trusted Sango and for that, the taijiya was grateful. The neko demon stopped at the base of the collapsed mountain and quivered in pain. "It's all right, Kirara," She muttered reassuringly to her pet, "The barrier has been destroyed. It cannot hurt you anymore." Picking up her neko after she transformed into her smaller form, Sango started off to the middle of the collapsed mountain where she suspected Bankotsu's remains were.

The exterminator trudged up the huge mound of dirt that used to be Mt. Hakurei. Her feet seemed to sink into the muddy, squishy ground. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Sango pulled her feet out and attempted to walk as she possibly could so that her feet would not get stuck. Her wound started to ache again at the exercise she was getting, which was unnecessary unless she wanted to open it up again. Remembering the sickening mass of blood that was her wound, Sango decided not to open it up and slowed down her walking speed.

It wasn't as though she was afraid of the dead mercenary or anything. She just didn't like Bankotsu and was very much dreading him being alive once more. So, she bought all the time she could manage, slowly down her walk to a snail's pace. However, the mountain wasn't that wide and soon Sango was staring at the very spot where she thought Bankotsu died. Only having her dream for reference, the slayer supposed that his bones could actually be anywhere in this humongous mass of wet earth.

A soft frown overcame Sango's face as she remembered Bankotsu dying somewhere at the bottom of the collapsed mountain. _Oh, god no! I have to dig through all this? No WAY! _Suddenly, the image of a dead Miroku lying bloody on the ground with Naraku jeering at them from up above appeared in her mind. Gritting her teeth in anger, newfound energy invaded her lithe body. Sango reached into her sack and pulled out a shovel that she had brought for this purpose. Inhaling the clean air while it still lasted, the taijiya plunged the shovel into the ground and winced as dust from the ground flew up into her nose.

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Sango sighed and leaned on her shovel as she glanced at her hole. It was huge; about 5 feet deep and 20 feet wide. She didn't have all the credit of course. Mostly, she just dug at a small section of the hole while Kirara did the real digging, but she still felt proud of the hole she helped create. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged. Looking up at the sky now, the exterminator could see a collage of pinks, purples, and orange twisting together around a big blob of red that was the sun, creating a perfect sunset. As she recalled, it was just before noon when she had first gotten to Mt. Hakurei. Though they were making swift progress, it wasn't quite enough and Sango did not want to sleep on the mountain which served as a graveyard for many humans and demons who had died in there. It was an awful thought sleeping on the ashes of rotten corpses.

The taijiya sighed once more, this time louder and a bit unhappier. She was icky and covered from head to toe with dust and dirt. "I'm going to need a bath soon," She muttered softly to herself, brushing some dirt off of her slayer suit, though it was unnecessary because her blacker than midnight suit seemed to repel dirt from it, staying spotless even when Sango didn't. _I'd better go to the local village and get a room before it turns dark, _She thought, worriedly. The slayer got up, stretched out her aching limbs and was just about to walk to the edge of the large hole when she tripped over something very hard and solid.

Cursing softly under her breath, Sango rubbed her stubbed toes and looked for the cause of her fall. There was nothing there but the dark, moist dirt. A chill crept into her stomach as a new though climbed into her head. _What if that was a human skeleton? Oh, Kami, don't let it be! _Fright overwhelmed her. "K-Kirara!" She called.

Almost immediately, the fiery neko appeared. She cocked her head at Sango in confusion, wondering why in the world was her mistress suddenly so startled. Sango frowned at her own stupidity, _Oh, don't be such a baby! _She scolded herself, _So what if it's a skeleton, you've dealt with them before! _Summoned up her courage, Sango gripped the Hiraikotsu tight in one hand while the other one reached toward the thing she tripped over. Squeezing her eyes tight, she laid a hand on it and pulled. To her surprise, the object didn't even budge. Her eyes snapped open with relief. _So it isn't a skeleton; they aren't that heavy, _She thought, relieved.

Sango pet her still confused neko with a smile. "It's okay, Kirara," She told her, "It's just your owner acting paranoid over little things," She said, forcing a laugh, "Now, will you help me pull out these objects embedded in the ground?" The slayer asked, not sure if she could do it on her own with only a fraction of her usual energy. Kirara mewed her agreement and they both worked to pull out the heavy objects from the earth.

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Sango and Kirara both curiously stared at the three long pieces of steel, one attached to a piece of painted wood that looked like a handle. "What do you think it is, Kirara?" She asked the cat, curiously. The kit mewed. "Yeah, I don't know what it is either," Sango said, agreeing with the kit, "But what I don't get is why it was so heavy… It looks like it is just steel. Steel shouldn't weigh this much…" Frowning her confusion, the exterminator continued to finger the steel, or whatever it was. "This looks pretty familiar, though," She whispered, more to herself than to Kirara now, "Like a halberd of some sort. It probably isn't steel, must be something heavier and stronger. Like silver or iron."

A gasp escaped Sango's lips, startling Kirara, as she realized what those three pieces of metal were. "It's Bankotsu's halberd, Banryu!" She exclaimed loudly, "No wonder they were so heavy! Wait, but how did the Banryu break?" She questioned to no one in general as she fingered the beautifully shaped pieces of silver that used to be a halberd.

Suddenly the odd sensation that felt like she was being swept off her feet invaded her mind, almost like flying, except for the fact that both her feet were solidly planted on the ground. The feeling was familiar… Like the one in her dream, wait, it was exactly like the one in her dream! _Sango, _One individual voice instead of many blended in echoed in her head. Startled, the taijiya took a step backward, colliding with the wall behind her, "Wh-who are you?" She asked, her voice shaking with surprise.

_My name is Shuali,_ the wise, distinctively feminine voice said, _and I was the miko of the Village of Kiron. _

"What do you want from me?" Sango said, not sure how she felt about Shuali being in her head.

_I want you to destroy Naraku. _Shuali told her, laconically.

"Why?"

_I have my reasons. _

"Are you dead?" The slayer asked, thinking that that was the only way this female could have gotten into her head.

There was a long pause. Finally, Shuali answered, _Yes, I am. _

Suddenly, very uncomfortable, Sango stammered, "Ah, yes, I see. How… um… sad." Neither of them said anything for a moment and there was a very awkward silence between the two. "So, um," Sango said, clearing her throat, "Are you just going to, um, stay here in my head until Naraku is defeated?" She asked, almost tentatively.

_I will not stay around in your mind all the time, but I will help you in times of need. Or, I may advise your actions. _

"Oh, well, thank you," Sango said, _This is so creepy, and old, dead woman in my head telling me what to do! _She thought.

_You know I can hear your thoughts, _Shuali said in a very annoyed tone.

The exterminator immediately blushed a rosy pink, "Oh, sorry," She said, trying to sound indifferent.

Shuali made a sound that would probably be equivalent to a sigh if she had a mouth; _We're wasting time here. I must leave you soon. What I came here to tell you in the first place is to fix the Banryu._

"How? It's broken so bad that-"

_Here, I'll loan you some of my spiritual power. Just touch the halberd. _

Slightly confused, Sango hesitated, and then rested her hand on the broken pieces of the once beautiful sword. To Sango's surprise, her hand glowed a deep green that spread to the pieces of the sword, blinding her with it's bright ultraviolet light. The slayer immediately covered her eyes with her other hand by instinct. When she looked back at the Banryu, the pieces seemed to dovetail together to become the former glory it once was. A little by little, the neon green coloring began to fade away.

_Put in two pieces of the jewel so that it will last, _the woman instructed. Sango humbly obeyed, shocked by what she had just seen Shuali demonstrate. Carefully, she reached for the glass jar around her neck and took out two pink shards that just seemed to vibrate with the power they contained. Sango laid the shards neatly on the surface of the newly created halberd and curiously watched, as the sword seemed to absorb the power, sucking it in to the midst of its silvery body. Then, it throbbed once with it's newly found power and then stayed still, almost as though it was waiting for it's owner to pick it up and start slicing open human flesh with it.

Just thinking about that gave Sango slight shivers, so she quickly threw off that thought and waited for Shuali for her next instruction. _Where did you find the Banryu? _Sango pointed at one dark, shadowy section of the hole. _Good, now delve around that place; you should Bankotsu's bones around there. _The taijiya unconsciously winced at that thought. _What's the matter? Are you afraid? _

"Of course not!" Sango declared sullenly. Then, the resolute girl took a step toward where she had found the Banryu and started to dig around in the glutinous mud, wary of what she might find. A few moments later, Sango began to calm down, seeing as though she probably wouldn't find the bones. However, to her surprise, a minute or so later, Sango's hand landed on something hard. Stifling her scream, the slayer slowly began to pull it out. It was the skeleton of Bankotsu.

A regular skeleton of a human being wouldn't usually scare Sango, but this one was still clad in Bankotsu's usual attire, for it had not been long since he had died and his clothes hadn't rotten yet. Cautiously, Sango laid a hand on the mercenary's arm bone and stroked it a bit. _Are you ready? _Shuali questioned her. The exterminator nodded and pulled out the remaining three-jewel shard. She did not need persuasion; she had been preparing for this moment from ever since Miroku died. Sango held her breath as she gently placed the three shards inside the man's ribcage. Bright pink light illuminated the large hole so violently that Sango had to shield her eyes.

"Holy Shit! Where am I?" Was her only indication that Bankotsu had been reborn.

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Ok, I'm not sure what I should do about Shuali's personality or her life story... Any ideas? 


	3. The Sweet Welcoming

Hey! Sorry about taking so freaking long to update! I'm also working on The Art of Affection and my short stories at the same time. Also I was working on the Trust Game, so this is way too hard to do all at once… Anyways, here you go, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I… don't… own… Inuyasha… Is that slow enough for you thick-minded people?

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**Chapter Three: The Sweet Welcoming**

Sango sighed as she watched the mercenary curiously examine every inch of her. Of course he was just looking for a weakness in his opponent like all good warriors do, but Sango couldn't help but grow a bit warm under his gaze. "Enough of this!" She finally snapped, crossing her arms over her chest in an irritated fashion.

It must have been that Sango did not look like too much to take on with her slim figure and fragile limbs because Bankotsu finally stopped his visual inspection of the girl with a satisfied snort. "You there, girl, why?" He questioned curtly.

The taijiya frowned slightly, not grasping his meaning. Deciding that being polite was the best way for the mercenary to accept them and help defeat Naraku, Sango gave him her best-forced smile and said, "I'm sorry, I can't quite understand what you mean. Can you repeat that?"

Bankotsu groaned and sat back down in the very spot he was just resurrected in. Sango was worried for a moment, but then realized that he was just resting. "It… hurts to be… resurrected a second… time," His words came out painfully in between deep gasps for air. It seemed as though his lungs still needed the boost to start fully working.

"Oh," Sango had no clue what to say. It's not like she spent everyday trying to comfort a dead person… Yet today, she had two encounters with dead people and both times had left her in this awkward position. "That's… um… too bad, I guess." She frowned at the silence that was starting to build up. The only sound that Sango could hear was the deep panting from Bankotsu. The taijiya then wrinkled her nose as some dust traveled up there and she tried not to sneeze.

That's when it hit her; if it was hard for her to breathe down there, it must have been really hard for Bankotsu to with his new lungs. Giving the mercenary an apologetic smile, Sango climbed out of the hole and offered him her hand. "It's much too dusty in there, here, take my hand."

Bankotsu took one look at her delicate hand and raised an eyebrow, "I might break you," He said, climbing out of the huge hole with little effort. Sango sniffed loudly, but bit down her tongue, not wanting to say anything in case it angered this man, who was their only hope.

"I'm tougher than that," She merely said. Bankotsu looked like he was going to reply, but couldn't for he had another coughing fit. She waited for a while for him to calm down, and then gestured toward Kirara who was in her larger form waiting for them, "Come on, get on her."

The mercenary stared at her like she was crazy, "Nuh uh!" He gasped, "No way in hell!"

Sighing slightly, Sango grabbed the man and before he could protest, they were up in the air, "Why not?" She teasingly questioned, "Isn't this great?" Bankotsu muttered something inarticulate. "Hmm? What was that?"

"I…" Bankotsu bit his lip and held on tighter to Sango, as if for dear life, "I'm afraid of heights!" He admitted, closing his eyes and trying his hardest not to look down.

A loud twinkling laugh echoed through the clear blue sky. And there Sango thought that this mercenary was a tough, evil person. He was actually like a little child or something.

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"Are we there yet?"

Sango gulped, not wanting to make him upset. Usually, she wouldn't have been afraid but a powerful mercenary was sitting behind her, a huge metal halberd in his hand, "Um, almost."

"I'm airsick!" He complained.

"We're almost there!" She repeated, irritated.

"Let's take a five minute break,"

"But in five minutes we'll already be there!"

Sango winced as she felt the she felt the cool texture of steel against her back, "Now," came the now angry voice from behind her. Inhaling deeply, the taijiya gently eased Kirara onto the ground and sprung off with as much grace as a person can muster. Bankotsu, however, did not have as much grace. He stumbled off of the neko to land on his behind.

The slayer chuckled at that but quickly stopped when her cinnamon eyes met his unhappy blue ones. "Don't worry," She said encouragingly, "You'll get the hang of it with some more tries!"

"What?! There is _no_ way I'm getting back on that thing!" The mercenary didn't look so good as he dizzily began to try to walk off the numbness in his legs.

Sango sighed, "But then how are we to get to the others?"

"We'll walk," He said gruffly, still upset about soaring through the air for so long.

The taijiya calmly breathed in like she was trained to do when she lost her patience, "Fine," She agreed reluctantly. They were peacefully walking for a bit when Sango was overcome by the familiar overpowering presence of a powerful spiritual person.

_Whoa, he is cuter in real life than the prophecy describes! _The slayer frowned at the priestess's abrupt entrance. "What are you doing here?"

Bankotsu turned around to stared at her, confused, "Um, actually, you were the one who brought me here…" He informed her.

Sango blushed, "No, I wasn't talking to you." She muttered, staring away from him into a random bush.

The mercenary followed her gaze to the bush. Convinced that she was talking to an inanimate object, Bankotsu tried his best not to say anything sarcastic, "Um, ok…"

_Shuali! _Sango angrily thought, _what was that for? _

_What was what for? I only stopped by to say hi. You were the one talking to a bush. _

_Well, hi to you, too. Now, can you leave?_

_Actually, I have something more important to tell you._

_Spill._

_Shouldn't you tell him anything about our plan for him to help defeat Naraku? I mean, if he sees Inuyasha, a battle will go on and one of them would die. It would be too hazardous to bring two people back to life in one day…_

_Hmm… you're right… so what do I do?_

_Tell him everything!_

_Alright. But could you get out of my head first? It would be awkward trying to talk to him with you here._

_Ah, I see. You want him for yourself. Well, since I'm a middle-aged dead woman, I'll let you go for this one. Remember, don't say anything you might regret._ And with that, Shuali disappeared.

Her face burning red, Sango called out, "Shut up!" she was offended by what that priestess had said.

Bankotsu whirled around to stare at her, "I wasn't talking…" He muttered, frowning deeply, "Um, are you sure you're okay, miss?"

"It's Sango," Bankotsu's frown deepened at that, "I mean, my name is Sango." The girl took a sigh and knelt down in the tall, lush grass and fluttered an arm at him, indicating that he do the same. Then, the slayer took a deep breath, "Here, I should tell you everything from the beginning."

000000000000000

So Sango began to talk, telling him everything that had happened in the past few day, with a few exceptions. She deliberately left out all information about Miroku and Shuali. It was hard to talk about Miroku and Shuali… Well, what kind of person would believe that Sango had a dead priestess in her head helping her in their battle against Naraku? No one sane, obviously.

"And so that's why you have to join us to defeat Naraku." Sango finished, searching the mercenary's face for his reaction.

"Oh," Bankotsu said simply. His lips were pursed together but Sango could see by the way he twirled the Banryu around in his hands that he was seriously thinking. "Wait a minute! When you say 'us' who do you mean?"

Sango paused, this was the hard part, "Um… Kirara…"  
"And?" He further interrogated knowing that there was someone more.

"Shippo…"

"And?"

"Kagome and Inuyasha," Sango finally admitted.

"The bitch who shot me through the arm with a prissy arrow!?" Bankotsu demanded furious,

"So, you're one of them?"

"Yeah," Sango said, hanging her head down, almost ashamed.

The taijiya watched the mercenary try to keep his cool, but his flashing blue eyes gave him away, "You do realize that Inuyasha was the one who killed me, right? Why would I ever help him?"

"Well, actually," Sango paused, wondering how to word this, "Um, he doesn't know about me resurrecting you and all that."

"_What_?"

"His ego was too big for him to ask anyone for help… And we really do need help… Please Bankotsu? You're our only hope…"

The mercenary looked away. He wasn't really sure how he felt about this girl pleading for help. He was never really good at this stuff, "I don't know, um, Sango," He said, testing out the girl's name. Bankotsu was satisfied by the way it sounded on his tongue.

Shocked that all her hard work was for nothing, crimson coloring flooded the girl's cheeks, but it wasn't from blushing. "Now listen here!" Sango said, jabbed her index finger in Bankotsu's chest, "I brought you back for a reason! Why the hell did you think I brought you back otherwise? Because I was bored and had nothing to do? NO! I'm not one of those girls who sits around moping because we're losing against Naraku! I do something! And what I chose to do was bring this stupid dummy back even though everyone hates you! I thought that you could help us, but no, your ridiculously huge ego won't allow you to be a man and put aside your differences long and work with Inuyasha!

Sango took a deep breath, "I am not one of those prissy girls who screams and runs away at the first sign of danger! I'm a taijiya, I fight too! And, since I'm a taijiya, my honor and loyalty to my friends is extremely high. Do you understand how much it hurt me internally to help you, an enemy? It was like betraying my friends! I had to _steal_ the jewel shards necessary to resurrect you from my best friend, Kagome! She's such a nice kind creature and it was heart-breaking to seal from her! Now, do you see what you've gotten me in?"

The taijiya then seemed to lose her fire because her voice lowered and her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment from her loud outburst, "So, you better appreciate all I'm doing for you…" The girl concluded feebly.

There was quite a long awkward pause as the girl looked away bashfully from the mercenary who was now gaping at her with a surprised look on his face, "Wow," he finally said, "didn't know you had that in you!" He gave her a smile, "You're right, we should go now, k?"

Sango smiled back, grateful that he had forgiven her so easily, "Yes, lets go."

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The look on both Kagome and Inuyasha was identical. "Bankotsu?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes wide.

"Inuyasha," Bankotsu replied, scowling darkly.

"Bankotsu?" Kagome echoed, looking just as confused.

"Bitch," He causally said.

"Kagome, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, worriedly.

"Sango?" Kagome asked, looking toward her for an explanation.

The taijiya sighed, deciding to explain, "Bankotsu-" she began, but the mercenary cut her off for he did not want her to tell them.

"Sango!" he exclaimed, shooting her a look.

Inuyasha looked sternly toward Sango, knowing that she knew what was going on, "Sango!" He said angrily, implying that she should explain.

Sango tried once more to tell them, "Inuyasha-" but this time, someone else interrupted her.

Shippo climbed out from behind some bushes, blinking at the sight in front of him, "Bankotsu?" he breathed in wonder. Kirara meowed from Sango's side in reassurance, but of course no one could understand that.

"Shippo-" Sango tried to explain.

"Brat!" Bankotsu announced, not liking Shippo.

Finally, no one could take it anymore. Three pairs of confused eyes turned to the taijiya.

"Sango!" said Inuyasha.

"Sango!" Kagome said.

"Sango!" came Shippo's little chirp.

"Okay, okay! Enough with the name calling!" Bankotsu finally said, irritated, "Now, Sango will tell you everything that happened. Just don't say anyone's name again!" He wearily rubbed his temples.

Sango glared at Bankotsu and wondered how in the world she was to explain all this…

* * *

I'm sure there are a lot of grammatical mistakes, but I was in a rush to update, so sorry! Well, how'd you think? 


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